Settling the Score
by yingaling
Summary: Alternate Reality. Serena is a sorceress out for revenge against the civilians. Darien is ready to stop her all costs. This story will no longer be updated.
1. Default Chapter

**Title: Settling the Score**

**Rating: R for later chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.**

**Summary: Alternate Reality or AU. Serena is a sorceress, out for revenge against the **

civilians. Darien is ready to stop her at all costs.

________________________________________________________________________

_This was originally a Fushigi Yuugi alternate reality fanfiction, but I invented some _

_relationships between characters that didn't really make much sense. I kept on trying to _

_picture them in those relationships, but it was hard, especially when I was ready to write _

_another chapter. So, I decided to make this a Sailor Moon story. It's easier on me. I hope _

_you like it!_

________________________________________________________________________

**~ Chapter 1 ~**

            Serena looked amused as the villagers scurried around in frenzied ignorance, like 

mice, squealing under the playful claws of its predator. Laughing, the sorceress raised a 

carefully manicured hand and clamped it, relishing the effect it had on the half-wits. A 

loud shriek sliced through the chaos as one of the women shakily pointed to a sheep, 

flattened and on the ground as a dark redness trickled through its wool and onto the floor.

            _Revenge._

            Serena's whole life had been dedicated to this mission, a mission to right what 

had been wronged. She brushed her blond tresses from her face and felt herself relive the 

day when her life shifted.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            _"Andrew, wait up!" a six year old Serena yelled as she lifted her skirt up and ran _

_towards him._

_            Serena scrambled up, greeted by the affectionate, brown eyes of her eighteen year _

_old brother. "You better hurry, or you'll be late for dinner," he said laughingly as he _

_patted her head._

_            Serena gave him a toothy grin, "I wove this pwace. They have pwetty fwowers. _

_Can't we stay here?"_

_            Andrew gave her a reproachful look before he explained, "We are nomads, Sere. _

_Don't you like exploring new places?"_

_            Hugging her brother, Serena replied, "I like going anywhere as long as you and _

_mommy and daddy come along."_

_            Lifting her up, Andrew gave Serena an affectionate peck on her ruddy cheek. _

_"That's my baby sister!"_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Serena leaned against the wall of a house, feeling the heated dryness of the bricks. 

In some way, they represented her now since she had nothing left in her life. Where there

once had been loving innocence, there was now cultured anger, a calm rage enough to

rival both the lulling and destructive powers of the sea.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            _"We're almost home," Andrew grinned at Serena._

_            "Home to mommy, daddy, and to RITA," she said as she mentally applauded _

_herself for her snide comment. Even as a child, Serena's acute sense of her surroundings _

_has astounded even the adults. She knew that her brother had a thing or two for the pretty _

_redhead._

_            Andrew groan, "I can't get anything past you, can I?"_

_            Serena giggled, "I think…she wikes you too!"_

_            "And I think…you're too young to play matchmaker!" Andrew declared with _

_severe gravity, but he was secretly pleased at the thought of Rita returning his feelings._

_            Suddenly, Serena felt her brother stop dead in his tracks and looked ahead of her. _

_Silence loomed around the rows of tents, like the cold stillness of death. Andrew tightened _

_his hold on Serena protectively as he ran towards their tent._

_            "Mother! Father!" he cried as he went into the tent only to find them lying on the _

_blood-soaked floor, dead, with sword marks in their bodies._

_            Upon seeing her parents in that state, Serena screamed. She screamed as though _

_she was being ripped apart and leaned to cry on her brother's shoulder when he dropped _

_her._

_            Serena winced as she fell onto the ground, sitting atop her parents' blood. Lifting _

_her hand up, she started shaking as she saw her chubby fingers covered in her parents' _

_sanguine fluid._

_            Something was dripping on her head, tainting her blond hair with more unearthly _

_substance. Serena slowly turned to look up and stopped when she saw her brother with a _

_sword through his head, dead, as are  all her dreams for the future._

_            His eyes… Serena shuddered to look at his eyes. They were hollow and lifeless. _

_Her brother was gone, she realized with a pang, as the soldiers threw aside the shell that _

_once hosted her brother's soul. They are coming for me next, Serena thought. They're _

_killing me next._

_            "Damn, who would've thought there were more survivors," a soldier said to his _

_comrade. "Hey, look here now," he said as he pointed at Serena. "She sure is a cute _

_little thing. Raye has been complaining about not having a playmate. Think she'll do?"_

_            "I don't know," his friend said hastily. "But, you better hurry up. All the other _

_soldiers are getting restless and they want to go home."_

_            With that, the first soldier nodded, took the shaking Serena and placed her on top _

_of the horse with him._

_            "You better be a good girl now," the odious man warned her. "My wife and _

_daughter will be happy to see a new addition to the family. Don't ruin what has come _

_your way. Let's go home."_

_            With that, he galloped away with his other comrades, cheering over the day's _

_victory._

_            Home… How ironic it was that he told her to go home when he had just destroyed _

_the only home she ever knew._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Twelve years had passed. Serena glared at the villagers, panicked into despair. 

Mommy, Daddy, this was how they must've felt. This was how the soldiers cruelly took 

away their lives, she thought. Consequently, the people here would suffer the same fate.

            Suddenly, she felt a hand grab hold of her shoulders hard. Before she could utter 

one protest, she was forced to face him. She groaned when she saw him. Raye's 

boyfriend – the ever-so-devoted, exasperatingly reprimanding, stickler-for-rules, but 

nevertheless a first-rate sorcerer, Darien.

            "Look," she said as she pointed to the dead sheep on the ground. "I killed only 

one animal!"

            "Let the council decide what harm you have caused the civilians," Darien glared 

at her. The anger in him was barely contained. "I'd like to see you flirt your way out of 

this one!"

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	2. Judgment

_Thanks for the reviews. Here's another installment of the story._

_-Ying_

**~ Chapter 2 ~**

            "Darien! Please. Just calm down. We can talk about this rationally," Serena said 

as she tried to pull away from his hard grip. Suddenly, she felt his hands tightened on her 

shoulders as he drew her closer to him. Exasperated, Serena glared at him before 

realizing how dangerously close her face was to his, their noses were almost touching. 

Noticing this, she shrunk back a little, but her position would not permit her to go back 

too much.

            "Rational, eh?" he sneered as he shook her. "How would you expect someone to 

treat you rationally after this inane display of yours? How can you violate the sorcerer's 

code AGAIN?"

            "Darien, you take things too seriously," Serena laughed. Looking at him 

sympathetically, she added, "Is Raye not doing anything to loosen you up?"

            Serena didn't think it was possible for Darien's face to get angrier, but it just did. 

"Why, you infuriating…." he shouted, before he scooped her up and put her, belly down, 

on his right shoulder, his arms holding tight onto her thighs.

            Try as she may, Serena could not get herself down from Darien's shoulder. "Put 

me down!" she screamed as she punched his back. "This is inhumane! Put me down!"

            "You're one to talk about inhumane," Darien scoffed as she struggled. "We'll see 

what the council has to say about this."

            Darien walked on, as Serena hung there, face red with embarrassment. She could 

make out people's shocked looks as Darien carried her. So preoccupied was she in her 

degrading position that she didn't realize where she was until Darien put her down.

            Looking up, she nodded sheepishly towards the seven sorcery judges on the panel.

            "No need to tell us why you are here, Darien," the main judge said gravely. "The 

board went to rectify the situation. Nothing major was damaged, and we altered the 

memory of the townsfolk so that they believed it was merely a storm that caused the 

turmoil."

            "I see you brought the perpetrator," the judge noted as he looked in Serena's 

direction. "Do you have anything to say for yourself, young lady? You're supposed use 

magic to protect the civilians. This is the second time you violated the code."

            Faced with the accusation, Serena twisted her face until it reflected one of pain 

and remorse, all the while mentally congratulating herself for putting up such a realistic 

act. "I'm sorry," she said as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "It won't happen again. I 

was watching the villagers, trying to protect them, but I guess I got carried away. I'm 

sorry!" 

With that, she buried her face in her hands as her body shook with her intense 

sobbing. Wiping her tears away, she looked down with shame, secretly doing a little 

dance in her head as she waited for her freedom sentence to be pronounced.

Unfortunately, it was thwarted by Darien's protest. "Please, don't be fooled by 

her act!" he pleaded with the judges. "She was not a bit sorrowful when I caught her!"

            Serena continued to look down, hoping the judges do not seriously consider what 

that bastard Darien said. After what seemed to be an eternity where the judges were 

talking amongst themselves, the main judge finally spoke up.

            "We've all arrived at a decision," he declared. "Serena, while your plea seemed 

genuine and heartfelt, we cannot neglect what Darien has said," he explained. "However, 

we do not want to deal harshly with you; therefore, it is only fitting that you be under the 

watchful eye of Darien from now on. You are to move into his home and he is to prevent 

you from breaking the code should you get 'carried away' again."

            Serena froze when she heard the judges' sentence. Move into Darien's house? 

Live with Darien? This is torture! Ironically, the judges had felt the sentence wasn't a 

harsh one.

            She snuck a peak at Darien and he looked equally displeased. Groaning, she 

braced herself for another one of his sanctimonious anger fits next time they were alone.

            Darien was not only displeased. He was furious! He had done the world a huge 

favor by stopping Serena from her misdeeds. He dragged her to the council. And what 

was his reward? They're making the hellcat stay under his roof. He also knew Raye 

would not be too happy with the arrangement. His life had gone out the frying pan and 

into the fire. What had he done to deserve this, he thought miserably.


End file.
